From The Deeps (Seven Wardens Book 1)

by Laura Greenwood

  “Are you still in pain?” Flint asked worriedly and she quickly shook her head.

  “No, just cold. First I was burning, now I’m too cold, what’s next? Why is this happening? It doesn’t make sense for my body to react this way, he only attacked my mind after all. How could he affect my body from far away?”

  Cam cleared his throat. “We don’t actually know if he’s far away. He could be just around the corner. We have no idea what or who he is, and that scares me.”

  “Me too,” Macey admitted. “But we need to warn Ice that he’s walking into a trap. The Voice said he only needs four of us, and he’s already got a hold on me. I don’t know if I can resist him next time... Then he’d have three of us.” She took their hands. “If he takes me, promise me you will run. He can’t take you as well. Run and find Air, then hide. Whatever he’s planning is bad, and we need to stop him.”

  Cam shook his head. “You know we couldn’t do that,” he said sadly. “We’re bonded now, we’ll never leave you. If he takes you, which we won’t let him do in the first place, we’ll come and get you back. You’re our waffle and we’ll fight for you.”

  Macey sighed. It was sweet of them, really, and she immediately felt warmer at the thought of having them all look out for her. But she couldn’t put them in danger. She wasn’t worth them getting hurt. But how could she prevent them from rushing after her? Deep inside, she knew that the Voice would be able to overpower her. She didn’t stand a chance; her mind was weakened and her powers unreliable. It was only a matter of time... unless they managed to get to him first.

  “Let’s get Jared, we need to brainstorm,” she said. Cam got up immediately and left the room. “Flint, can you make it warmer?”

  “Your skin is warm, sweetie, if I make it any warmer you’ll get a fever. I don’t think it’s a cold I can do much about.” Despite his words, the flames in the fireplace grew in size and the crackling of the wood became louder.

  “Urgh, I hope this won’t last much longer. I don’t like feeling this weak.”

  “You’re not weak. You’re the strongest waffle I know.”

  She laughed, giving him a gentle shove with her elbows. “Stop the waffle talk. It makes me hungry.”

  “Should I get us some food?”

  “No, don’t leave,” she said, grabbing his hand for emphasis.

  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Cam is going to get us some.”

  “Nifty trick, your mind talking. Can you always hear each other’s thoughts?”

  Flint chuckled. “That would be awful. No, we send messages to each other, just like talking. Sometimes a few emotions get transmitted as well, but we’re practised enough to shut them out.”

  “I always forget how old you two are,” Macey mumbled. She wasn’t going to say that it also made her slightly uncomfortable. How many girlfriends would they have had over the centuries? Did they see her as naive?

  Jared’s return saved her from those depressing thoughts. He knelt in front of her, his eyes wild as he scanned her from top to toe. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she lied, knowing he was upset already.

  “Don’t lie to me. Never, ever, lie to me about how you feel. Understood?”

  The undertone in his voice made her shiver. He was dead serious about this. He really cared, almost too much.

  “Okay,” she whispered and his expression softened. “I’m still cold and exhausted. I feel weaker than usual, like something’s been taken away from me.” Realising how pathetic that made her sound, she added, “But my magic is back and stronger than before.”

  “Good, now you’re honest. Cam told me what you said about Lightning and Ice. I agree we need to get to Ice before Mahoun does.” Macey shuddered at that name. She much preferred calling him the Voice. Naming a thing gave it power, and she felt like he had already a lot of that.

  “Questions is, how?” Cam said, entering the room with a tray. When he noticed Macey’s greedy looks, he shrugged. “Just some beans with toast. Didn’t want to spend any time cooking. We’ve got more important things to do.”

  She didn’t have a problem with beans on toast. Not at all. When he handed her a plate, she noticed that he’d buttered the bread before pouring the beans on top. Perfect. She was going to keep him.

  “The blue men told us to go see the Sìth. Malan said to bond and then look for the other three Wardens. I vote for Malan’s advice,” Jared said before taking a big bite of bean-encrusted toast.

  “Seconded,” Flint agreed. “I definitely don’t want to visit the Fae anytime soon.”

  “Thirded,” Cam said and sat down next to Macey. She noticed how they were all sitting very close to her rather than in a circle as they usually did.

  “Fourthed? Whatever the word is,” she shrugged. “That doesn’t answer the question of how we actually do that, though.”

  “I’m hoping the Staran might help us,” Flint suggested. “It has taken us to where we needed to be in the past, maybe it will do the same again. Somehow this is all connected to the Staran and if they want us to heal them, they better show us where to find the other Wardens.”

  “Do you think they’re strong enough?” Macey asked.

  “Only one way to find out.”

  Macey was getting a little bit fed up of staring into the Staran, though at least it meant she could curl herself around Cam or Flint and feel their body pressed against hers. Now she had other experiences of that, she could enjoy the Staran even more.

  “Are we really just going to trust that they take us where we need to go?” she half-whined, despite knowing that it was the best plan they had. Really, it was the only plan they had.

  “Do you have a better idea?” Jared asked, seeming surprisingly laid back given his refusal to hang around earlier.

  “Well, no...”

  “Then this is what we have to do,” he pointed out, taking a step closer to Cam. She was grateful, she could use Flint’s warmth still, even if she wasn’t cold cold.

  “But you’re sure it’ll take us where we need to go?”

  “Of course not,” Flint said, laughing. “When has it ever quite done what it was supposed to?”

  He had a point. Not that it helped matters at all. Rather, it only helped increase the worry making itself known in the pit of Macey’s stomach. Stupid Staran. Stupid Warden duties. Why couldn’t she just have a nice quiet evening in with her men? They could eat good food, but only if Cam was cooking, and laze about in the pool. They’d all seen her kelpie form now anyway, so she could even shift and swim with them.

  Of course, if she stayed in human form, there were other things she could do with the three of them in a pool. Things that would most definitely be fun. Images of wet skin sliding against wet skin assailed her, along with gasps and sighs of ecstasy. She wondered what being with all three of them would be like. Exhilarating most likely. Not to mention exciting and enticing. Though just how much convincing they’d need before they followed through with her desires, she didn’t know.

  “Earth to Macey,” Flint said, waving his hand in front of her face.

  “I thought that was Jared?” she threw back with a grin. He laughed aloud, quickly followed by Jared. Cam gave the three of them a stern look, as if to say they were supposed to be being sensible right at this moment in time. The glint in his eye gave him away though, he was as amused as the rest of them by Macey’s quip. She wasn’t sure why though, it hadn’t been that good. She’d even go as far as saying it was cringe-worthy. But they all needed the light relief the joke would bring.

  “It’s not Earth I’ll be bringing you back to,” Jared said after he’d finished laughing, tipping her a wink.

  “Alright, time to get serious now,” Cam said sternly, his voice sending tingles through Macey. She hoped he had some other uses for that voice too. She could certainly think of a few ideas.

  “Alright, okay,” she acknowledged, her laughter fading to a stop. “But don’t pretend you didn’t need the comi
c relief.”

  She left Flint’s side and made her way to Cam, going up onto her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her gently, confirming the same emotions they’d been talking about earlier. While none of them had voiced them out loud, she was pretty sure they all knew them to be true. She bore the marks on her back to confirm that.

  She pulled back, smiling softly at him, a look that he returned without hesitation.

  “Okay, now I’m ready to go.” She unwrapped herself from him and made her way back to Flint, who held a hand out to her, using it to tug her forward and into his arms.

  Closing her eyes and praying this trip wouldn’t be as bad as some of the others, she waited as the familiar tugging feeling of the Staran took over once again.

  16

  She scowled. The landings didn’t seem to be getting any easier, which was just a pain in the tail considering they’d still have to use the Staran to get around.

  Macey glanced around, trying to make sense of where they were. It was almost like the mists around the guys’ house. Hazy, and not at all conducive to being able to tell where they were.

  “Did it work?” Jared asked, letting go of Cam as quickly possible. She smothered a giggle. Guess they weren’t getting up to any fun together then. That was a little disappointing, but so long as they still both paid attention to her, she didn’t mind too much.

  “Give it a second, and we’ll see,” Cam replied, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

  “Not through this mist we won’t,” Flint muttered. Macey smothered a giggle. He did have a point. The mist was thick, and only getting thicker.

  “Really, Flint?” Cam scowled but didn’t look away from the mists. Maybe he was as uneasy about them as Macey was. Flint slipped his hand around hers and squeezed tightly, for which she was more than grateful. She needed it. There was something extra eerie about these mists.

  “You don’t think the Sìth are causing them, do you?” she asked, shivering. Was it her, or were things getting colder around here?

  “I wouldn’t have thought so,” Cam said.

  The four of them stood in silence, staring into the mists, and not wanting to take a step further. Macey saw a dark shape in the corner of her eye, and swivelled slightly on the balls of her feet, hoping it was just her on edge imagination, and not actually anything to worry about. To her horror, the shape didn’t disappear at all. On the contrary. It almost appeared to be getting bigger, as if it was something coming towards them.

  The mists around them cooled drastically, and Macey’s breath began to frost in front of her. Letting go of Flint’s hand, she hugged her arms around herself, wishing for the warmth of the living room they’d not long left behind. Flint was warm but she didn’t want to look too needy right now, so better not to hold his hand as if she was afraid.

  The shape became clearer, meaning it had to be something real, and not in her mind. That was never good.

  “Cam...”

  “Yes?” he replied instantly.

  “What is it?” Her voice shook, which she hated. Weakness really wasn’t something she liked, and at the moment she felt she was exhibiting far more of it than she should be doing.

  “It’s...” he trailed off as the shape emerged from the mists, along with what appeared to be a light shimmer of ice crystals through the air. Macey stepped back so she was pressed against Flint’s chest, his warmth seeping into her, but still not quite enough to dispel the cold lingering in the air.

  The shape, or rather, the cat, that appeared from the mists was large, probably at least half Macey’s size, with jet black fur and a splash of white across its chest. But the thing that really caught her attention, was its eyes. They glowed an icy blue. Actually glowed. Considering she lived in a world filled with magic, she was still surprised by the glow. It was unnatural, and more than a little mesmerising.

  “Hi,” she blurted, unsure of why she’d suddenly decided to start talking to the cat. But something made her do it, and if there was one thing she’d learned over the past few days, it was that, sometimes, she should probably trust her gut instincts.

  The cat nodded.

  Wait. Nodded? Cats didn’t nod, did they? She frowned at the creature, but before she could say anything else, it began to transform before her eyes. A tall, very pale, man with the same ice blue eyes, stood before her. His hair was the same colour as the cat had been, but with one white streak travelling through it. The similarities were striking, and she found herself just as enthralled by the man in front of her. He held out a hand to them, as if he was beckoning them to him.

  “Can we help?” Jared asked cautiously, stepping slightly closer so he was flanking Flint and Macey, as Cam did the same on the other side.

  “I hope so,” the man replied, his voice surprisingly musical.

  “How?” Flint asked, his voice rumbling in Macey’s ear. She decided she could get used to their protectiveness. It made her feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.

  “Please, help me save my sister,” the cat-man replied.

  “Your sister?” Macey asked, realising that she was once again the one speaking for all of them. Maybe that was her role in the Warden dynamic. Maybe her diplomacy training hadn’t been for naught after all.

  “She’s dying. I asked the Staran for help and you arrived. Please, make her better.”

  For someone looking like an adult, his language was surprisingly simple. Maybe he wasn’t used to being in his human form? Macey knew that from some older kelpies who refused to even half-shift. Their thought processes would change, become more kelpie, more primal.

  “I’m not quite sure what we could do for her… none of us are doctors,” she said, feeling terrible about having to disappoint him. He was as sad as he was good looking.

  “If the Staran sent you, you will be able to help. Everything happens for a reason. Come, follow me.” Without even waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away with the elegance of a cat.

  “I don’t like this,” Cam muttered. “He’s a cat sìth, they’re not known for their trustworthiness.”

  “A cat fae? Really? I thought they were just a legend. Nine lives, black cats being unlucky, cat sìth stealing souls and all that...” Macey should really stop at being surprised that most myths seemed to be true. She was wondering why her grandmother never said that all the beings from her stories really existed. Surely, she would have known that?

  “Incubi aren’t trusted either, and here I am, a Warden,” Jared said. “Let’s follow him, and if he means us ill, we outnumber him.”

  “You don’t know that, there could be more of them,” Cam replied, but Macey ignored him.

  “He wants our help, so let’s see if we can be of assistance.” She walked into the mists, following the cat-man, not waiting for her men. They would come with her, even if just to protect her. She realised that she could use their instinctive protectiveness to make them do what she wanted… fun.

  Cam continued to whisper doubts and complaints, but Macey left him behind, catching up with the cat sìth.

  “What is your name?” she asked him and he gave her a curious look with his glowing eyes.

  “Us sìth never reveal our names, did you not know that?”

  “Ehm, you’re the first cat sìth I’ve met. Why not?”

  “A name gives you power over the named. That’s why we have nine, one each for partners, children, parents, family, neighbours, friends, colleagues, strangers and enemies.”

  “Wow, that must be hard to keep up with,” Macey said wide-eyed. She was terrible with names, and remembering nine of them for each person would be more than a challenge.

  “So you can’t tell me your name for strangers?”

  “No,” he said simply, not giving an explanation.

  “Well, I’m Macey. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too, Kelpie.”

  She sighed. “Why does everybody always know what I am and I have no clue about what the
y are?”

  Cat-man chuckled. “I’m a cat. My sense of smell is excellent.”

  “Have you smelled many kelpies?” Macey asked incredulously.

  “You’re the first. But you smell like the sea, and you’re not blue and don’t have a fishtail, so kelpie was the logical option.”

  “Oh.”

  “We’re almost there,” he said and they walked in silence, Macey still pondering what she smelled like. Maybe she should ask the guys if she smelled fishy? Then she’d have to do something about it.

  A growl that was distinctively non-cat carried through the mist. She stopped in her tracks, suddenly suspicious.

  “Why did that sound like a dog? You said we’re going to see your sister.”

  “We are. We’re twins, in fact, but fraternal. She’s not a cat sìth, she’s a cù sìth.”

  “A what?”

  He sighed. “A dog fae, if you wish. I got the whiskers, she got the wagging tail.”

  “Does that mean one of your parents was a dog and one a cat?” Macey had to suppress a giggle at the thought.

  “Yes. Now will you please come? She needs help.”

  Macey turned serious immediately. “Of course. Although I still don’t know what we could do.”

  “Neither do I,” Cam muttered from behind her. The guys had been so quiet that Macey had almost forgotten all about them. The cat-man’s voice was so alluring, so beautiful that her entire focus had been on him. Only Jared’s incubus vibe got anywhere close to his.

  Another growl, much closer this time. The mists slowly parted in front of them and offered them a view of an iron-wrought park bench. It looked out of place, as if it had been transported from an old-fashioned park. The ground was covered in mist, giving it an eerie, out-of-this-world feel. That made her think that she had no idea about where they were. Was this Earth? Another planet? An in-between place?